The Sun. — London, England, 1864-09-22 00:00:00

Lord Palmerston and the Wilts Volunteers. _9-- The fourth annual meeting of the Wilts Rifle Associltion was brought to a most onceessfut ter rnmation,yesterday by a grand fete in Wilton-park, under the auspices of the youthful Earl of Pem broke and his noble mother, Lady Herbert, in the presence of the Premier and Lady Palmerston. After the great meeting of the National Rifle Asso elation, that of the county of Wilts commands the first place amid the local gatherings, both from the number of competitors, and the amount and value of the prizes offered—a result entirely owing to the liberality of the landed proprietors and gentry of the county, for, iu addition to locAl pezes to the value of £390, a further sum of £3OO was given for general competition, which attracted the large num blr of 250 candidates. The shooting commenced on Thursday last, at the butts near the ancient city of Salisbury, and so close was the competition that it was not brought to a close until late yesterday, owing to the great num. bet. of ties which had to be shot off. The chief prize was a challenge cup, to become the absolute property of the winner for three con secutive years. To this the mayor and corporation of Salisbury add a silver vase for the winner each year. The previous holders have been Sergeant Butler,Salisbury, 1861; Sergeant Wilton, Salisbury, 1862; Lieut. Hitchcock, Market Lavinkten, 1863. This year it has been won by Sergeant Jeffries, of the 6th Wilts. Lady Herbert and Lady H. Wet. son Taylor presented two claret jugs as ladies' prizes, and the ladies of Salisbury gave a silver coffee pot to be competed for by marksmen. Other prizes were given by Mr T. H. R. Poynder, Mr S. Watson Taylor, General Buckley, Col. Bathurst, M.P., Mr Marsh, M.P., Mr Sothern•Estcourt, M.P., Thynne, M.P., Mr T. F. Grove, M r E. Lord H, Hamilton, &c. Lady Herbert gave a grand luncheon to her guests and about 600 of the elite of the county, after which the prizes were distributed on a platform erected on the lawn in front of Wilton House. Among the company present were Lord and Lady Palmerston, the Marquis of Bath, Earl Nelson, Lord Arundell, Earl Grosvenor, Lord H. Thynne, M.P., the Earl of Carnarvon, Sir F. Bathurst, Colonel Bathurst, M.P., Mr Bouverie, M.P., Mr Antrobus, M.P., Mr Marsh, M.P., Mr Danby Seymour, M.P., Lord and Lady Heytesbury, General Buckley, the Marquis and Marchioness of Winchester, Count Strzelecki, &c. Lady HERBERT, who was received with a warm burst of cheering, came forward and said—" In the absence of the Marquis of Ailesbury, who is unfora tunately detained in Yorkshire, the Earl of Camara von, as the nearest relative of the family, has kindly undertaken to speak on my behalf." The Earl of CARNARVON, after briefly reviewing the use and progress of the Volunteer movement, and bearing testimony to the public spirit and efficiency of the Wilts Volunteer corps, called upon the hon. secretary, Mr. E. P. Kelsey, to read out the list of the winners of prizes. The successful candidates, who each came forward as his name was called and received his prize from the hands of Lady Herbert were :—Sergeant Wilton, Ist Wilts— Sergeant Coombes, 4th Wilts—Private Phillips, 4th Wilts—Corporal Baker, 7th Wilts—Private barley and Sergeant Rees, 4th Wilts—Corporal Thomas, 2d Wilts—Private S. Chivers, sth Wilts—Sergeant Butler, Ist Wilts—Private O'Reilly, sth Wilts— Sergeant Ward, 5,h Wilts—Corporal Allen, 14th Wilts—Corporal Pike, sth Wilts—Private Hobbs, 7th Wilts—Sergeant Allen, 14th Wilts—Corporal Davis, 9th Wilts—Private J. Chivers, sth Wilts — Private Hobbs and Corporal Baker, Ist Wilts— Lieut. Hitchcock, 7th Wilts—Corporal Sloper, Wilts Yeomanry—Sergeant Butler and Ensign Hitchcock, 7th Wilts—Private Watson, Ist Wilts —Sergeant Till, 14th Wilts— Sergeant Butler and Sergeant Neate, 7th Wilts—Hon. Member Hum phries and Corporal Fidler, 14th Wilts—Private Watson and Corporal Marshman, 2d Wilts—Pri vate O'Reilly and Corporal Wild, Wilts Yeomanry —Private Redropp, 2d Wilts, Lord PALMERSTON then presented the challenge cop to the winner, Sergeant Jeffries, of the 6th Wilts. The noble lord, who met with a most enthu siastic welcome, said—Gentlemen Arolun teers—l ad dress those who are volunteers, and those who mean to be Volunteers. (Cheers.) It has afforded me great pleasure to obey the commands of Lady Herbert in presenting to this goud shot and excellent soldier the challenge cup which I have just put in his hands, for this cup embodies that principle which leads to dis tinction in every career—l mean the principle of hon ourable emulation. It is not only won by successful emulation, but it must be annually kept by success fulemulation, and without disparagement to the gal lant soldier who has so well won it, I may express a hope that next year it may be won by a better shot—(laughter)—than he who has now become the holder of this valuable trophy. My noble friend has eloquently and truly dilated on the causes which led to the original establishment of the Vo lunteer system of this country, and I must say that a nobler display of national feeling, of sagacious patriotism, and of persevering courage was ❑ever exhibited by any nation. (Cheers.) Its original cause was, as my noble friend stated, temporary, bat I trust that its effects will be permanent, and that this institution so valuable and so important to ,the best interest of the country, will continue for all ages to come to be a great national institu tion. It is quite true that some few years ago, cir cumstances to which it is unnecessary to advert led the people of this country to reflect that the ordi nary and established means of defence were not sufficient to keep away the dangers which it fore saw might at all events be possible. We differ in many things from the great Powers of the Conti. nent. We live on an island accessible to any invader who might chance to land on our snores at almost every point of our large maritime circumference. We therefore cannot pretend to defend ourselves as continental State's may do, which, being accessible in only one avenue of attack, by one valley or by one pass, may sufficiently fortify their vulnerable points, and by stationing there a military force may think themselves secure from the invading enemy. We have not thought it possible, and it wows be idle and foolish to attempt to fortify the whole of the ex tensive shores which begirt these islands, We 'nave done that which is within our means and which is sufficient for our purpose. We have begun and carried cut to a great extent these works which are necessary to protect from sudden attack those naval dockyards and arsenals which are the cradles, of our maritime power and the defenders of the best interest of the country ; for it is needless for me to point out that if we lost the command of the seas which surround our shores and a hostile squadron was allowed to blockade our ports, our commerce, our industry, and our independence would be seriously endan gered. (Cheers.) This work was begun by the late noble occupant of these estates who devoted his best energies to commence these operations. His plans have been followed out, and I trust they will soon be successfully completed. Well, although the defence of England,if she is ever attacked, must be by armies on the . field, it is not our habit, it does not suit our constitution nor our interest to assem ble permanently under arms those hundreds of thousands of soldiers who may be found in every country of Europe. We think that it would be an unnecessary pressure on our own resources to keep and maintain such a force in time of peace. We think that it would draw away a valuable portion of the people from the pursuits of industry, and be a drain on the wealth and resources of the country for a time of emergency. We have, however, the Militia—an admirable force, well disciplined, ably officered, and animat e d w ith t h e b est sp i r it. \V c have thus a force of some 112,000 men ready, if the occasion ba required, to take its place in line be aide the regular army. Well, then, gentlemen, the volunteers Of England come forward to m a k e up the deficiency. ltoecame forward with courage, patriotism, and devotion to the public service be yond all praise, has excited the admiration of all the world, and Which has entitled you to the warmest thanks of the county, that at I am no t overstating the case w h en I say at,tohoeopresent moment there are from 150,00 0 to 16 volun teers organised, equipped, tr a i ne d , and disciplined with officers who have made themselves acquainted With their duties, and we know that 'when these corps have assemblel in considerable numbers, and joined in the movements which do not belong sime ply to battalions, but also to divisional Operations, they have excited the admiration of mililary men, and the astonishment of the strangers who have visited thiscountry. (Cheers.) You k ow, gentlemen volunteers of England, you well know that numbers alone do not constitute strength; that large assem blies of men, although in uniform and with the best of weapons, are not by their numbers alone eompee tent to meet with success an enemy disciplined and trained; and, therefore, you have at a great sacrifice of private occupation, at a great devotion of time, which in this country is money, you have made these sacrifices in order to become thoroughly acquainted with the duties of your profession—your honourable profession, for so I will call it. (Cheers.) Well, gentlemen, you have by sneer perseverance, by your constant attention to your duties, made yourselves masters of all those movements which belong to separate battalions, and also to collections of battalions in brigades and divisions. You have also well thought that it is one thing to meet and another to kill an enemy. To move to meet an enemy without being able to bring him down is only getting nearer to danger yourselves. There is, however, no fear that those who have so well exhibited their skill to-day and yesterday will ne glect a practice as necessary almost as your drill, ' and even your battalion and divisional exercises. The people of this island have in all times been famous as marksmen, and in the days of old when war was carried on, I will not say with less deadly, bat with more clumsy weapons, such as bows and arrows, the British archer was celebrated in every battlefield of Europe in which he was engaged, and his skill was shown from the slaughter which he made of his opponents. (Cheers.) Well, gentle men, that keen eye, that strong arm which so disc tinguished your ancestors is not wanting to you. (Cheers.) This day you have given ample proofs of your skill in the weapon which is placed in your hands. You have proved yourselves worthy descen• dents of worthy ancestors, equally ready to defend your shores from attack, and, if need be, to vindi cate the honour of your country wherever your ser vices may be required. I congratulate you on the assemblage here to-day. I congratulate you, in the first place, on your success and the interest which the vast crowd I see here, not merely the accumula tion of our own sex, but of the beauty of the other sex, takes in that success, and I trust that this interest which your fellow men and women take in your success will serve as an additional encouragement to you to persevere in this meeting on the ground on which we now stand—on a territory which has been for generations occupied by a family honoura bly distinguished in the annals and history of the country, which has always maintained that charac ter which belongs to an old aristocratic family, and those traditional ties of duty on one side. and of gratitude and affection on the other. (Cheers) I congratulate you on having had your prizes distri buted by the noble lady who represents this family, who combines with all the graces of her sex quali ties of her own—warmth of heart and benevolence of character, energy of purpose and application to business exclusively her own. (Cheers.) I congra tulate you also that this ceremony has taken place under the auspices of the youthful heir to this vast estate, who, I trust, as I am sure he will, will prove himself a worthy representative of the ancient and illustrious house of Pembroke. On the motion of the Marquis of BATH, three cheers were given for Lord and Lady Palmerston, Lady Herbert, and the Earl of Pembroke, and the proceedings were brought to a close. Naval and Military Intelligence. The . Racoon, 20, screw corvette, Capt. Count Gleichen, which arrived at Spithead from Scotland on Tuesday, has gone into Portsmouth harbour, and will be placed in dock to repair damage to her keel, caused by grounding daring her recent northern cruise. Soon after anchoring at Spithead on Tues day the wood and felt covering of her boilers was found to be burning, but after some trouble the fire was extinguished. An inquiry will be held on board relative to the cause of the accident. Such fires are of frequent occurrence onboard her Majesty's ships, bat the evil has been partially met by the Admi ralty giving a permissive sanction to the use of Spence's patent cement as a covering for boilers and steampipes, in lieu of the dangerous felt and wood covering. To fully meet the question, however, atd prevent the recurrence of any such fires, the Admi ralty should issue a compulsory order on the sub ject, and also alter their printed regulations relative to the covering of new boilers, which specially direct that all boilers and pipes shall be covered with felt and wood. The Spence cement is elastic, non-conducting and non-combustible, and has un dergone, with the most perfect success, a very lengthened test of its efficiency on the boilers and steampipes of the hydraulic enginenhouse of Ports mouth Dockyard, where a 601 b. pressure of steam is used. The Pigmy, paddle steamer, Master -Commander Vine, sailed from Portsmouth ou Tuesday for Vent nor, Isle of Wight, with the members of the com mittee on board appointed by the War-office and the Admiralty to inspect and report upon the sys tems of day and night signalling for military and naval purposes which has been lately worked out by Capt. Frank Bolton, 12th Regiment, and Com mander Colomb, Royal Navy. The Victoria, screw three-decker, fitted as the future flagship foe the Admiral commanding her Majesty's fleets in the Mediterranean, yesterday made her steam reserve trial of speed at the mea sured mile in Stokes Bay, near Portsmouth. Six runs were made over the mile with full boiler power, and gave the ship a mean speed of 11 800 knots. Two runs with half boiler power gave her a mean speed of 9.290 knots. The mean revolutions of the engines were 58 at full power and 48 at half power. With full power the half circle was made in 3 min. 20 sec., and completed to the full circle in 6 min. 43 sec. With half power the half circle was made in 4 min., and the full circle in 8 min. 20 sec. As the Victoria's engines are 1,090 , -borse power nominal, and as the ship drew but 23ft 7in forward and 25ft 9in aft, the speed attained at full power cannot be considered very great, nor is it probable the Victoria will, 'when complete for sea with her crew and all her stores on board, prove such a clipper in point of speed as was at one time anticipated. Mr Warrener, from the firm of Mandalay and Field, was on board during the trial, representing the makers of the engines. The machinery worked admirably, and is without a doubt mach too valuable for service in an obsolete wooden three-decker. In turning at Spit - head at the conclusion of one of her courses at the measured mile, the Victoria came in collision with the Italian bark Camillo, lying at anchor at Spit head, and bound from Newcastle to Palermo with a cargo of coals. The Camillo lost her fore and main topgallant masts and mizen topmast. She was sub sequently towed into Portsmouth harbour by a God vernment steamtug, and her damage will be re paired by the dockyard authorities. The seamen and marines for her Majesty's iron clad frigate Achilles, 20, 1,250-horse power, Capt. E. W. Vansittart, preparing for sea at Chatham, are berthed on board the receiving ship Gloucester, 50, in Chatham harbour, until the Achilles is ready to receive them. The detachments of Royal Marine Artillery have joined from headquarters Ports- mouth, and those from the Light Infantry companies have been selected from the Woolwich battalion. The Achilles is expected to be ready to take her departure from Chatham in about a fortnight, when she will proceed direct to Portsmouth, The screw corvette Cadmus, 21, 400 horse power, will be out of the shipwrights' hands at Chatham Dockyard in the course of next week, and will be ready to be floated out of dock during the approach ing spring tides. During the last few days she has shipped her armament, which consists of 16 of the cast-iron smooth-bore 8 inch guns, one 110-pounder, and four 40-pounder naval Armstrongs, together with the usual quantity of 12-pounder and 9-pounder Armstrongs for field and boat service. According to present orders received from the Admiralty, the Cadmus is to be prepared for the first class steam reserve, in readiness for immediate commission. A number of workmen are now employed at Chatham Dockyard, under the direction of Mr Rivers, the resident Admiralty civil engineer, in sinking the necessary foundations for the tramways along the wharves at the dockyard, where it is pro posed to place the portable steam cranes to be used in loading and unloading the various vessels arriving at and departing from the establishment. The steam cranes to be employed in this work are similar to those which have been for some time in use alongside the docks in which the ironclads Achilles, Royal 04k, and Bellerophon have been under construction. The second squadron of the 31 Battalion of the Military Train arrived at Liverpool yesterday, from Quebec, in the steamer Jura. The detachment con sisted of 4 officers, 2 staff sergeants, 123 non-com missioned officers and men, 25 women, and 36 chil dren. They remained on board the Jura during the night, and will leave for Woolwich this morning. On Tuesday a preliminary inspection took place of the troops of the 16th Lancers stationed at Col chester, preparatory to the annual visit of the In. specter General of Cavalry, which is expected to place at the latter end of the present week. Prince Humbert of Italy yesterday went down to Woolwich and witnessed the manoeuvres of a brigade field•day. The proceedings commenced at 11 a.m., and were conducted by Major-Gen. Warde, C. 8., Commandant. The Prince was attended by Lieut.• Col. Du Plat, Equerry to the Household, and was accompanied by the Marquis d'Azeglio, the Italian ambassador, and two attachés—viz., the Dacca di Somma and Capt. Cagni ; Gen. Revel, aide-de-camp to the King; the Marquis Balbi and Count Maffei, officers of the Etat Major. The troops were paraded at 10.16 on Woolwieh•common is two lines, as follows—The first line, consisting of three batteries of the Royal Horse Artillery, in command of Col. the Hon. E. T. Gage, Col. Price, C. 8., and Major Paget, and stationed at full inter vals; the Ist battalion sth Fusiliers, in command of Major Lyons; Royal Marine Light Infantry, in the centre in two brigades, commanded by Captain Bunce and Lieut.-Col. Marriott, in quarter distance columns. The second line consisted of two bat teries 2d Division Depot, commanded by Colonel Smyth, C. 8,, and Col. Middleton, C. 8., and one 40 pounder battery, and all appeared in admirable condition. The infantry were commanded in chief by Col. Master, C. 8., sth Fusiliers. Precisely at the appointed hour, namely, 11 o'clock, a couple of her Majesty's carriages, drawn by four gray horses each, entered the garrison, containing the Prince and suite, which was announced by firing a royal salute, in command of Capt. Gilmore. His royal highness was received on the Royal Artillery pa rade by the General and Staff, and having mounted he was escorted to the review ground, where the whole of the troops presented arms, and the amalgamated bands of music played the national air. The Prince, who is only twenty years of age, was dressed in the uniform of a General of the Staff. He appeared much interested in the various field movements, and made frequent remarks to Gen. Warde, expressing hie admiration of the high state of discipline which appeared to regulate the proceedings, especially when the batteries, after trotting past, changed face and returned at full gallop without interrupting the regularity and pre. cision of their lines. During the sham fight the infantry retired to the rear, and the brunt of the battle was sustained principally by the field batte• ries, in which they expended 30 rounds of blank ammunition per gun, the 40-pounders 15, and the infantry 15 rounds per man. The Military Train were in attendance with their ambulance waggons; but, notwithstanding the slippery condition of the ground after the heavy rainfall during the past few days, their services were not called into requisition, as no accident of any importance occurred through out the morning. At 12 o'tlock the whole of the troops advanced in front, and, having performed a general salute, they broke off and retired to quar ters. The Prince, accompanied by his suite and the garrison authorities, then proceeded to a hasty in spection of the Royal Military Academy, and after. wards honoured the General and officers of the Royal Artillery mess at luncheon. General Shaheen Pasha, Ali Bey, Selina Effendi, and three other Egyptian officers of distinction, on a short visit to this country, and who were present, accompanied by Mr. Larking, wore also invited by Gen. Warde to join the mess table. They were met on parade by a guard of honour of 100 men, in command of Capt. Law, 13th Brigade Royal Artillery, and the Royal Artillery band, who played a selection of operatic airs during the repast. At 2 o'clock the entire party proceeded to the Arsenal, where his Royal Highness was received by the heads of depart. ments then og duty—namely, Cept. Fraser, R A., Assistant Superintendent of the Laboratory ; Capt. Magendie,Ca ptain Instructor ; Lt.-Col. S haw, Royal Carriage Department; Captain Gordon, Military Stores; and Lieut.-Col. Campbell, Royal Gun Fac tories, in full uniform, according to instructions received from the War Department to that effect. The inspection of the Royal Arsenal occupied nearly three hours, after which the Prince and suite re turned to London. Capt. Edward Codd is to have the good-service pension placed at the disposal of the First Lord of the Admiralty by the promotion of Capt. Frederick H. H. Glasse, C. 8., to flag rank. James C. Spence, engineer student of the Ports mouth Dockyard Steam Factory, has been appointed by the Lords of the Admiralty a student at the Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at South Kensington. The following appointments were made yesterday at the Admiralty : —Capt. J. F. B. Wain wright to the Terror, vice Capt. Glasse, promoted to be Rear- Admiral—Capt. Lord Fredk. H. Kerr to the Black Prince, vice Capt. Wainwright— Charles Edward Pyne, nominated to a naval cadetship—John Stanley, in the Pandora, promoted to acting engineer—Geo. Thomson and Robert H. Cooper, in the Cumberland, promoted to first-class assist.-engiceers—'William C. Graham, second-class assist.-engineer, to the Brisk—Fred. J. Baron, acting second-class assist.- engineer, to the Cumberland—Reginald J. Meek, clerk, to the Euryalus—Alfred Smith, clerk, to the Cambridge—Reginald C. Hodder, assist.-clerk, to the SA., Vincent —Henry R. Lloyd, assist.-clerk, to the Achilles—Samuel J. Davis, assist...clerk, to the Formidable—Henry Dawson, assist.-clerk, to the Hrwke—and Henry H. Rickard, assist.•clerk, to the Donegal. PitoTo-SCULPTURE;The sitter to the photo sculptor is placed exactly in the centre of a circular , chamber surmounted by a glass dome, posed upon a cir- , cular platform marked round its circumference with 24 equal divisions. Around the wall of the chamber are ranged 24 pho ographio cameras, each pointing to the sitter, and each corresponding to one of the numbers of the divisions on the circular platform. These cameras, duly furnished with photographic plates, are all uncovered at the same instant, and 24 pictures of the sitter are taken, representing his contour as seen from each of the positions occupied by the cameras. The plates being removed from the cameras, and developed and fixed in the usual manner, the photographic department of the process is finished, and the sitter's attendance is no more requirid.—Once a Week. COUNTERFEIT SOVEREIGNS.—A few counterfeit sovereigns of a rather dangerous character have within the last week been detected at the Bank counters. They are made of gold, but of an inferior quality, being 2 carats 1/ grains worse than standard gold, of which the genuine sovereigns are made; that is to say, instead of having 9,167 parts of pure gold in 10,000 they have only 8,138 parts,which makes them only worth about 17s. The coins are new, but seem to have been purposely soiled to give them the appearance of having been worn in circula tion. They have more of the greenish-yellow colour of pure gold than the genuine sovereigns, with the exception of the old George and Dragon pieces. All of them are struck from one pair of dies. One of these dies, the reverse, is cracked in two places, and the coins have been touched up by a hand-tool after striking in the press; and the effect of the crack, which runs diagonally upwards through the Scottish quarter of the shield, and through the E of the " Regina," is in this way, from some of them, partly re moved, although sufficient remains for the purpose of de tection. In the Irish quarter the harp is almost erased by this after-manipulation, and the consequent smoothness and want of definition strike the eye at once. The quality of the engraving is coarse, and does not appear to be the work of a person accustomed to engrave coin dies. The lettering particularly is roughly executed by an unpractised hand ; yet, after all, the imitation is sufficiently close to deceive on a casual inspection. The sound, which is dull and wants the sharp clink of the true sovereign, is ono of the best means of detection to those accustomed to the ring of the genuine metal. It is not apprehended that there are many in circulation, and, indeed, the whole facts point to operations on a limited scale. LONG SENTENCE.—Gardiner, the New South Wales bushranger, has been sentenced, under three several convictions, and as the sentences are to take effect in sue- Ma= be is condemned to penal servitude for 32 years. THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 22, 1864. British Association for the Advancement of Science, and so on. Of course, that would be an objection to the mode proposed by Admiral Belcher, as it was prettty much to all the modes hitherto adopted. To make ships quite invulnerable would only be to make them unmanageable at BATH, Tuesday. The different sections resumed their sittings this morning. SECTION G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE. This section was presided over by Mr Hawkshaw, F.R.S., the president of the section. Professor B ANXINE, F.R.S., read a paper on some of the strains of ships, of which the following is an abstract :—ln previous scientific investigationsrespeeting the strains which ships have to bear, it has been usual to suppose the ship balanced on a point of rock, or supported at the ends on two rocks, The strains which would thus be produced are far more severe than that which would have to be borne by a ship afloat. The author computes the most severe straining action which can act on a ship afloat— viz , that which takes place when she is supported amidships on a wave-crest, and dry at the ends ; and he finds that the bending action cannot exceed that due to the weight of the ship with a leverage of 1-20th of her length, and that the racking action cannot ex ceed about 16-100ths of her weight. Applying those results to two very good examples of ships of 2,680 tons displace ment, one of iron and the other of wool, described by Mr John Vernon in a paper read to the Institution cf Mecha nical Engineers in 1863, he finds the following values of the greatest stress of different kinds created on the material of the ship :—ln the iron ship, tension 3.98 tons per square inch, thrust 2.35, racking stress 0.975. It follows that in the iron ship the factor of safety against bending is between 6 and g, agreeing exactly with the best practice of engineers, and that there a a great surplus of strength against racking. In the wooden ship, tension 0.375 ton per square inch, and thrust 0.293. Here the factor of safety is be tween 10 and 16, which is also agreeable to good practice in carpentry. As for the racking action, the iron diagonal b: aces required by Lloyd's rules would be sufficient to bear one-third of it, only leaving the rest to be borne by the fric tion and adhesion at the beams of the planking. A paper was read by Captain B. A. Henderson on the practical progress of naval architecture in ocean and river steamers, with suggestions for improvement in the steerage of the Great Eastern and large and small ironclads, rams and gunboats, similar to the Assam and Nautilus, by the use of balanced rudders in bows and stern. Admiral Sir E. BELCH ER said he agreed with the sug gestion of building an iron vessel and then coating her. Papers were also teal in this section by Mr George Faweus, On " Improvements in Scale and other Ladders," and on " Improvements in Folding Doors ;" by Mr Zerah Colburn, on " Steam Boilers;" by Mr George Glover, on " Instruments for the Measurement of Gas." Mr James Williams made some interesting experiments on the elas- A paper was read by Captain Wheatly, R.N., on "Im provements in the Defence of Ships of War." He said—The result of the experiments at Shoebury ness has publicly pro claimed that the 13-inch gun is the only gun to be thoroughly depended on to act against iron plates. It must be, there fore, universally adopted as the chief naval gun. It may, however, be modified by the introduction of gun cotton. As yet we hear of no preparations for its adoption in our navy but as we have mounted up from the 8-inch to the 9-inch and from the 9 to the 101, so I trust we shall shortly come to the 13-inch. I will now proceed to submit a system cal culated to mitigate the great evil which would be caused by fragments of iron and splinters of wood, as shown by the experiments at Shoeburyness. A flag officer has suggested returning to the old system, and taking off your hat to the shot and letting it pass. But * this does not meet the emergency. If we entirely abandon plates we expose ourselves to molten iron and other shells, in that case much more destructive than solid shot. (The gallant officer drew a diagram on the black board illustrating the system he proposed to adopt.) The screen might not stop the solid shot, but it would completely arrest all the fragments and splinters driven in from the plates and backing forming the under defence. I have placed the gun en barbette; in this position it would be exposed to being dismounted ; by plac ing it in ports, the stop would be weakened to the depth of the port. It is a choice between two evils. There is, how ever, a much greater evil than this which iron ships have to contend with. In the only two naval actions that have occurred lately at sea, both the defeated ships went down the iron ship within an quarter of an hour after the fight commenced. It appears to me that the best mode of attack ing an iron ship will be to imitate the practice of a breach ing battery on shore, where all the guns are directed on the one spot where various lines meet. But as aiming and hitting are not quite the same, we must see if a ship can be kept afloat after receiving shot below her water line. For this purpose I propose, all the materials being ready before hand, screens of oiled south-wester canvass tied up between the beams in the wings, and having a piece of heavy wire rope at the bottom. When let down immediately the shot has struck, a bag of wood shavings to be forced into the gap, covered by a plank, and shored up from the inner side of the wing. This will only stop the main rush of the water; a great deal will still flow through the irregular crevices* These I propose to stop by plastering the canvass to the side with hydraulic cement, which is said to become fixed under water in a quarter of an hour. Where torn by the jagged ends of iron, fresh canvas to be applied so as to make a mould over them. I propose stopping other shot holes in the surviving ship in the same way after the action as neither planks nor iron plates will be of any use in covering them. I submit, therefore, that this is an addi tional argument in favour of the system, and such is ad vocated in my former paper, in which—to assimilate it to the practice on shore—the unplated gunboats, armed with single 13-inch guns, resemble the line, and the much heavier armed-plated ships the artillery. With respect to any diffi culties that may be started respecting the power of ships to carry heavy guns, I have to observe that as long, I believe, as two years ago, two 15-inch guns have been carried in Federal vessels. That would be considered small in com parison with our scale. One probable reason why the Ame ricans have as yet no sea-going ironclads is that they are directing all their energy and skill in constructing vessels for coast and river warfare. Their monster guns show that they are sufficiently capable of handling large masses of iron to build sea-going ironclads when they re quire them. Admiral Sir E. BELCHER read a paper on " Improve ments in the Structure of Ships of War." He considered that our ships of war needed no more protection than would keep their hulls safely floating, with such protection for those fighting the guns as might be deemed sufficient to keep off shells and musketry, suffering heavy shot to pass freely through instead cf causing spiral showers of splinters such as resulted from the destruction of the late targets at Shoeburyness. The present paper, therefore, dealt with a mode of construction adequate for contending kith ordinary batteries, and also permitting external planking, and conse quently the old copper sheathing below water. It has been so generally assumed that no thickness of armour plate could be employed which would r esist our new monster ordnance that his attention had been directed to meet the difficulty halfway, by protecting the mere vital shell of the lower hull, so as defy the ordinary assault of any gun-bearing vessel which should not by its accumulated weight or mass of matter render defence impossible. It was important, therefore, that such a tonnage should be provided as should, as in the case of the Warrior class, be capable of floating the contemplated armament independent of the forward and after compartments, which might be assumed, as mere as sistant means of flotation, and to be so fitted with cellular divisions below the level of flotation as to render injury to those parts below the reach of shot of very trifling importance. In or er to satisfy the means of offence, our attention ought to be directed to the concentration of every gun embarked on objects either ahead or astern. bearing in mind that, under the throat that " no arm Air can withstand the contemplated guns," we must calculate on their em ployment as much as possible near the line of axis of the vessel. It was constantly asserted that the Warrior plates would stand no chance against. the monster guns of which so much was predicted ; but the question was whether some other mode could not be devised of applying the same weight to greater advantage, or, assuming that it was penetrated, could we not avoid risk to the vitality of the ship by the injury to be inflicted ? lie thought he saw his way to a re medy, which he would explain. Now, assuming that an iron spherical shot of 13 inches was the missile to be dreaded, the question to be considered was not exactly what plate of iron was to resist it—for the authorities stated that no rea sonable thickness, even up to 12 inches, would withstand the impact. Looking, however, only to the floating carcase of the ship, and disregarding the ports until we had an im pregnable stage on which to place guns, then we should be at liberty to increase the thickness to any amount. His pro position was to construct the ship on the customary plan of close-iton ribs, but filling up the interstices between the iron with condensed teak. Now, assuming we constructed a vessel with 36 inches depth of rib at the vulnerable portions which shot could reach, which would probably involve 12 vertical feet of her side—say 8 feet below water and 4 feet above—we should then have a vessel of stronger framework than any now built, building, or in contemplation. Then, assuming that these iron ribs presented 2 inches at the ex terior, tapering in 36 i nc h es to one i n side, placed 6 inches asunder, and filled in with compressed timbe r or other mat ter, we should have per cubic yard of bulwark 3,412.1251 b., that of the Warrior being 3,1231 b., showing only a differ ence of about 2901 b. to the cubic yard. It was yet to be de termined by actual ex p er iment, whether that resistance would offer the protection sought. Perhaps it would not, but as he proposed to add a 6 inch-planking outside, he con sidered that the comparative danger with our present iron clads would be reduced to n il , or at least to something which would satisfy the seaman. His plans for the final construc tion and fortification were not yet complete, but they would' probably be laid before the Government in March next. On a previous occasion he had alluded to p a p er as an opposing medium. In 1816 at Algiers a roam of foolscap, end on, re sisted a 681 b shot from a 27 feet gun, at 76 yards ; and in 1854 he proposed to the Admiralty to construct moveable battery rafts of brown paper, but the design w as not carried out Lately he learnt from a newspaper that , ten y ears after his proposal, it was found that paper of 1-inch thickness was fired at and not quite penetrated, while a similar shot went quite through 10 inches of good oak, In conclusion, he would observe that condensed millboard weighed less than oak or teak, and, interposed in the manner he had sug gested, might form a target which would set even Big Will at defiance. The Cirmizmaer said he had himself always felt consi derable difficulty in all the suggestions made from time to time for building ships of war where iron and wood wore used, on both of which the strength of the ship itself was made to depend, It appeared to him, apart from the diffe rent modes of construction which had been suggested from time to time, that what they ought to aim at and secure if they could was to build a ship wholly of iron, so that the ship, if stripped of all its other coating, would still be a water-tight ship capable of navigating, and in this way they would, of course, have a perfect structure. Without that he did not see hOW they Were to escape the dry rot, SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TlMES.—General M'Clellan'e acceptance of the Chicago nomination completes the preparations for the Peesidental contest. The lists are now open. the champions produced, the issue is declared, and the battle inevitable. Mr. Lincoln's friends fought hard against assumptions so unfavourable to their own prospects. They first argued that there could be no unanimity at Chicago and that the strength of the Democratic party would be destroyed by division ; but these hopes were dashed to the ground by a political accord and union unexpected, probably, by the Democrats themselves. Since the nomination of General M'Clellan under circumstances so promising they have specu lated anxiously on his refusal of tho offer. Many of the Republican journals have overwhelmed him with compliments only to remind him that by his acceptance of such a proposal he would forfeit all his claims to popular respect, and ruin himself in the estimation of the country. But this chance of escape is now lost also. Gen. M'Clellan accepts the nomination and consents to stand. Thus the match is made, and the game must be played out. Desperate, too, in the extreme will be the grapple between the combatants, for the champions and the parties are the most formidable that could be pitted against each other. Mr Lincoln can no longer hope to slip into a second term of office, either unopposed or with only a contemptible opposition. The great party of the Democrats have coalesced in perfect unanimity against him, and they have secured as their willing candidate the very man whose name would bring the greatest strength to their cause. From this time, therefore, the prospect is clearly and sharply defined. The gladiators have stepped into the political arena, and they must fight ace cording to the laws of the strife. They are not ill. matched. If the Democrats, when fairly united, are not the more powerful party of the two, Europe has been greatly misinformed of the state of opinions in America; but the Republicans have the advane tage of possession, a firmer and less equivocal policy than their adversaries, and the chances of support from military success. We have already been assured that Sherman's victory in Georgia proved immediately favourable to Mr. Lincoln's cause, though the measure of that success is now given in the General's own report. On the day fob. lowing the battle he advanced with his army only to find his enemy impregnably posted just six miles off. So securely was the Confederate General intrenched and so strong was his force, that Sherman declined to attack him and prudently retired. Yet the victory which pushed a Southern army this short distance in retreat, but left it still is a plight to defy the conquerors, sufficed for the moment to send Lincoln up and M'Clellan down, and the not improbable capture of Mobile may perhaps contribute to the depression of the Democratic cause. On the other hand, a great military disaster would assist Mr. Lincoln's opponents, so that the ordinary political calculations are liable to incessant disturbance from the incidents of war. It will be observed that Gen. M'Clellan, while approving a " pacific" policy in place of the policy pursued by the present Admi nistration, nevertheless declares distinctly for the re-establishment of the Union " at all hazards." This profession of political faith involves a contra diction, but it is a contradiction which is accepted by perhaps the most numerous section of his party. All the Democrats wish for peace, but a portion only of the party is bold enough to own that it would purchase peace, if necessary, even at the price of disunion. The rest entertain or effect a hope that if the Republicans, whose accession to power was the signal of Secession, could be super seded by the Democrats, whose sympathy with the South are traditional and notorious, the Seceders would desist from war and parley with their ancient friends. Such is the slippery and precarious via media which M'Clellan must at present tread; but though the obligation exposes him to political sar casm, there was probably no escape from it. It ape pears that a large number of Americans heartily desire peace, and are yet afraid or unwilling to de clare for peace on the only terms which would cer tainly produce it. They wish to have done with fighting, and yet they cannot bring themselves to condemn the war except on the condition of secur ing its object by some better policy. On a pure policy of peace the Chicago Convention would have been a failure. It is only by appropriating the best cry of the Republicans that the Democrats can go to the country with any hope of success. If logic, how ever, conquer, Mr. Seward would win. He has the best case, and he knows how to argue it. Moreover, the Republicans are just as ready to borrow the colours of their opponents as the Democrats. Just as M'Clellan flatters one popular sentiment by de claring for Union, so Mr. Lincoln conciliates another by pronouncing for peace. At Auburn, Mr. Seward asserted, in terms as plain as he could venture to use, that the President was as ready to make peace with the South as the Democratic pretender to his place, and that he woald offer the South as easy and simple conditions of reconciliation. It had been thrown in his teeth that he was a stickler for abolition, and that ho required the Southerners to give up slavery as well as re-enter the Union, whereas the Democrats would ptomptly embrace he South on condition of re-union only. But ticity of iron; and Mr H. C, Sorby, F.R.S,, exhibited and described a number of microscopical photographs of various kinds of steel. This concluded the business of the Section. There were several other papers in the list to be read, but the Chair man said they must be taken as read. The committee of this Section having been invited to see an iron girder broken by the testing machihe (on which a paper was read yesterday), a:number of the members pro ceeded to the works of Messrs, Stothert and Pitt, in this city, and examined the machine, by which the successive deflexions of the beam were accurately taken until it finally broke with a loud report at the calculated weight. Mr Fairbairn, and other members of the committee, ex pressed approval of the machine, which they considered to have advantages not possessed by any other. The girder weighed 16cwt., and broke with 17 tons. There has been a grand floral fete to-day at the Sydney gardens. The flowers and fruits exhibited were choice and beautiful, the attendance being large and fashionable. The Scots Fnsileer Guards' and Hanoverian Bands performed some excellent music. The Eccles Find of Six Thousand Silver Pennies, Since this find on the 11th — August little has arisen re specting it worth publication. Notwithstanding the posi tive and peremptory claim of the Treasury, it turns out that the coins really come to the Crown, in right of the Sove reign, not as Queen, but as Duchess of Lancaster. When the Crown first created the duchy and granted to its first duke what are termed jara regalia, the royal charters conveyed to the Duke and his successors, amongst other legal privileges and prerogatives, the right to all treasure trove which should be found within the ambit of the duchy. We believe that this claim of the duchy has been recognised by the Treasury ; but the latest that we can learn of the proceedings in the arcana of these departments of State is, that the coins remain in the Treasury, though the right to their possession is in the d achy. With all this, however, the public have nothing to do; nor should we notice it, but for the bad moral effect it is causing in Eccles and the neighbourhood, more than a month having elapsed since the coins were found, and so far no reward has been given to the finder, a poor young working man, disabled by acci dent and out of employment, while he is the sole support of a widowed mother. The general feeling is that he would have done rightly to appropriate what he found to his own use, This feeling is to be regretted; bat it is natural under the long delay. People will say that the Circumlocution office is no myth, and that "how not to do it" is practised with success in some at least of our State departments. It should be remembered, however, that this is the season of annual holiday for heads of departments; that London is empty, and officials are away on the moors, or at the sea side, or on the Rhine, or the Alps ; and that consequently red tape and routine in London are creeping their slowest, if not sleeping their soundest. _ . - . But leaving this subject, there are one of two hitherto unnoticed points in this " find," which may be briefly touched. First, as to the probable time of the deposit. The coins found were mainly English, of Henry 11. or 111. perhaps both; but a few were Irish pennies of King John, and a few Scottish pennies of William the Lion. Thus the three kingdoms contributed something to this hoard. Now Ruding and other authorities suppose that John's Irish coinage was not struck till the year 1210, when he went into Ireland. Before that year, then, no Irish pennies of John could have found their way into a Lancashire hoard. To account for the presence of a few Scottish pennies in this Eccles deposit, it may be stated that John built a fort at the mouth of the Tweed, which William I. of Scotland pulled down, The quarrel between them on this ground was made up by John undertaking not to rebuild the fort, on William the Lion paying to him the large sum of 15,000 marks (L 10,000). If this amount were paid in the chief coin of circulation at that period, it would sufficiently account for the presence of Scottish pennies cf William the Lion in the Eccles hoard; and it also limits the deposit to some time in the thirteenth century. But the later limit is better fixed by the English coins, all Of which (about 6,000) have on the reverse the .short double cross, which is known to have been superseded in the coinage of Henry 111. in 1247, by the long cross, carried to the edge of the coin with a view to prevent clipping. As no long- cross penny is found in the Eccles hoard, it must have been planed in the ground before they came into circulation. The above facts. then, limit the date of its hiding in the earth between the years 1210 and 1248. Many questions have been asked as to the value of these coins. This value differs materially, according to the mode; of estimation. There is a fancy or factitious value, as where parsons in the neighbourhood offer a liberal price for a few coins as obj cts of curiosity. Thus the finder of the Eccles coins was offered 15s for half a dez.m pieces. Again, there is what may bo called the antiquarian or numismatic value of the coins, a fluctuating and uncertain amount; for coins of a perticular reign may be very rare and fetch high prices, till some large find occurs of that type, which at once renders them plentiful and cheap. Now there have been several finds of these pennies of Henry which have reduced their value considerably for the cabi nets of collectors. The chief of these was at Tealby, in Lin colnshire, in 1807, the number being 5,700 ; but of these most found their way to the melting-pot of the Royal Mint. So large a number as that in the Eccles hoard will certainly lower the price in the numismatic market, unless they have thelike fate. Lastly,there is the bullion value,which can only be roughly approximated. Tho whole weigh 21b avoir dupois, or say 231 b troy. At 5s the ounce or £3 the pound troy, the bullion value would be about £6O or £7O. But this Eccles find is an important one, not for its money or other value, but for its providing a large mass of material for evidence towards the decision of a question of some im portance—not a mere numismatic or arc') PS °logical question, but one relating to the history of the coinage of England in one of its obscurest periods. It would be out of place here to discuss this question in detail, but a few words may put cur readers in possession of the main point. No coins of any English mint exist either of Richard I. (Coeur de Lion) or of his brother and successor John ; and collectors who aim at possessing a complete series of English coins from the Conquest have been accustomed to represent these two kings by the Anglo-G allic pennies of Richard I. (struck chiefly in Poitou), and by the Irish pennies of King John, of whiol a few are found in the Eccles board. No one can account for the absence of English pennies of these kings. In the reign of John 16 English mints existed. Again, as to she English pennies bearing the words " lien ricus Rex," there is nothing to show whether they were of Henry 11. or Henry III„ or of both. Mr Hawkins, of;the British Museum, and other eminent numismatists, attri bute this type of coins chiefly, if not wholly, to Henry 11. ; Dlr Sainthill, the Rev. Assheton Pownall, and others think them partly of that King and partly of his grandson Henry 111. Mr W. IL D. Longstaffe, F.S.A., goes further, and says in effect that both Richard and John continued to use the type of penny struck by their father, and that even John's son, Henry 111, continued to do the same till 4247. This hypothesis would account for the absence of the names of Richard and John in coins struck at English mints during their reigns. The only way of ascertaining the truth is by an extended examination of coins of " Henricus Rex" with the short cross at reverse. Their reverse legend always contains the name of the mint and the moneyer, as " Abel on London," " Paul on Canterbury ;" and by a very careful examination of Exchequer records and other docu ments, it has been ascertained by Mr Longstaffe, that some " Henrious" coins were struck by moneyers, who did not live in the reign either of Henry 11. or Henry 111., but in that of Richard or of John. For these reasons it is very desirable that, before the Eccles coins aro scattered or melted, they should be examined by some competent nu mismatist, conversant with this question. The Crown au. thorities have had their attention drawn to this subject. For the issue we must wait. ATTEMPT OF A MOTHER TO MURDER FOUR CHILDREN.—The utmost excitement prevailed on Monday in the neighbourhood of the Victoria. Docks in consequence of a rumour that a woman had made a most desperate attempt upon the life of four of her children. The would-be murderess resides at 17, Bell and Anchor cottages, near to the Victoria Docks, her husband, named Philbric, being employed on the Pier-head, adjacent to the docks. It appears that Mrs Philbric, who has hitherto borne the character of a kind parent and affectionate wi e, prepared the breakfast for her family in her utual manner about 7 in the morning ; but immediately on her husband's departure she desired the eldest child, a boy about 10 years old, to go at once to bed again.. The boy had no sooner got into bed than she rushed at him with a poker and struck him on the head. She then procured a razor, and, in spite of the violent screams and struggles of the poor little fellow, she succeeded in inflicting a wound in his throat. Although shockingly wounded, the boy contrived to escape into the street, and by his cries for assistance alarmed the neighbours, several of whom rushed into the house and succeeded in preventing the wretched woman from murdering the three other children. The boy was at once conveyed to the Poplar Hospital, where he lies in a precarious condition. Mrs Philbrio was removed to the West Ham Union under the charge of the police, and the medical men called in pro nounced her to be insane. [ADVERTI ,EMENT.] - Holloway's Pills. Convincing Proofs.—The personal experience of multitudes extending over the last 30 years leaves no doubt that this medicine surpasses all others in its purifying and corrective qualities. When any epidemic prevails, Holloway's pills are the most proper aperient that can be prescribed, because they pain lessly remove all accumulations without depriving the sufferer of healthy constitutional power. The young and delicate may take these pills without difficulty, disgust, or danger, and they will prove the best preservative against smallpox, and all eruptive fevers, typhoid and bilious com plaints. This remedy should at once be resorted to when pains in the limbs and loins, giddiness, nausea, and thirst give warning of the approach 01 ESOLI2O WOroo than ordinary ailment. when, asked Mr Seward, did the President refuse to do the same, or who could pretend to say that this condition of simple Union would ever be offered by the Seceders ? The Confederates mean separation and nothing less. There can be no peace except on those terms, and it is mere absurdity to stipulate for the maintenance of the Union and yet condemn the war. If the South cannot be coerced into re- Union, it can never be cajoled. Such, in brief, is Mr Seward's retort upon his opponents. "We say that nothing but victory in the field can restore the Union, and therefore we are for the vigorous prosecution of the war; but if the Seceders will come to terms, let us hear what those terms are, and we can accept them as well as you." General M'Clellan wishes to consult the suscepti bilities of the War Democrats, and to catch the votes of stray Republicans, and so he professes to uphold the Union "at all hazards'' —that is, even, if neceea sary, at the cost of continued war. President Lin coln wishes to catch the votes of stray Democrats, and so his Secretary throws over the slavery clues. tion, and all other questions, save that of Union, that might stand in the way of peace. In short, the ostensible "platforms" of the two candidates are identical, except that one is turned upside down. Mr. Lincoln cannot forego the Union, and so must keep on fighting, but he will make peace if the Union is preserved, as conditionally es anybody. General M.Clellan cannot forego the Union, but instead of going on with the war, he puts the peace experi ment and reserves the fighting for afterwards. We have repeatedly expressed our opinion that the policy of the War Democrats is logically untenable, for it means pacific war or warlike peace. The Republican policy is more consistent—" peace when you please, and on the terms you know, but war till then." It would be hard, however, to say that the inconsistent policy is not a judicious one. If the Americans themselves do not know their own minds, or, know ing them, dare not speak them, the Democratic policy is skilfully adapted to their uncertainties or fears. It bridges the space between them and the object which they desire. That object is peace, and he Democrats put peace in the foreground. At present they couple it with conditions which save the national pride, but are probably quite incom patible with the object itself. A short time hence the conditions may be dropped while the object is kept in view, and the nation, after enjoying a re spite from the trials of war, and tasting the bless ings of peace once more, may gradually resolve on retaining these blessings, even at the expense of what would now be thought an impossible sur render. HERALD.—It is wonderful how little one may know of a country by merely ruling it, more espe cially a country like India, where the alien govern ing body is a very small minority to the native population, and the policy of letting things alone as much as possible hes prevailed until the last few years. It ia not very long since the discovery was made that torture was employed by the native subs ordinates of Government for the collection of the revenue ; and now we rind that in a district under British administration slavery has been openly practised for many years, and the buying and sells ing of men, women, and children publicly registered in the civil courts. It is to the honourable courage of Col. Haughton, commissioner of Cooch Behar, in Bengal, that we aro indebted for this exposure, That officer, in a report just made to Government, tells us that his attention was first brought directly to the subject through an application made to him for the purchase money of a child sold to a Brahmin during the funeral ceremonies of the late Itjah, and for which the Maharanees, then acting as Re gents of the kingdom, but whose powers have since been taken over by the British Government, were made responsible. Upon being appealed to, the Maharanees explained the nature of the claim, tell ing Col. Haughton that it was customary to give away slaves to Brahmins on such occasions as the one in question ; but they admitted the practice to be an evil one, and promised not to continue it. Hearing of his interference in the matter, the judge of the civil court (a native) told Col. Haughton that he had always been in the habit of registering the sales of slaves, and desired to know whether he should do so for the future. Col. Haughton, know ing that the late Rajah had issued an order forbid ding the traffic altogether—which order, however, he never had the energy to enforce—directed the discontinuance of the registry without hesitation. He next proceeded to ascertain the extent of the evil, in order to deal with it generally, and for this purpose secured the services of a trustworthy native official, whose reappends to his own communica tion. The reporter deolaree that the cuotom of buying and selling human kind has existed for a very long time in Coach Behar. It is usual among four classes of persons—viz., fathers and moth ers ._ vho sell their daughters; husbands who sell th eir wives ; priests and their disciples who sell the slaves' male and female, whom they have acquired; other persons who sell their relatives when fallen ; into pecuniary distress. This manner of getting rid of poor relations is, it seems, very prevalent, 011 . d . when a man quarrels with his wife ono of his favourite threats is to sell her to the Bbooteas, wh o ' it seems, are eager purchasers, and have agents on the border ready to negotiate any number of trans' actions of the kind. That the practice is carried on purely for profit is evident from the fact that Hi" dons sell their children to Mahomedans and Mah° ° medans to undoes, without any scruples as to rel l ; gion, and as frequently as not for the purpose of prostitution,. The evil, Col. Huugbton tells tie, i B°L . long standing, but probably attained its heigh t during the period of misrule of the Rajah Narinder, from 1800 to 1839. His son, Seebinder Naraiot suffered for his father's conduct, and became a better man. His education had taught him to look with disgust at the practice, and the colonel has no doub t that but for the imbecile state to which he was lately reduced by debauchery he would have put a stop t° it. The cause of his order not being carried int°, execution is believed to have been the outcry raise d by the Ra"ees and females of the palace, who wer e apprehensive that they would be unable to obtain voluntary service. In the appendix to the report there are some curious illustrations of the working of the system. The manner in which poor men gel "sold up," in a literal sense of the term, is very often as follows :—There are various dues and exactions , under different forms, which are levied upon the cultivators of the soil, amounting in general to three times the sum which they are bound by their agreements to pay for the use of their land, A ryot, say, has £2 per annum to pal for rent, and hopes by his labour to make the produce of his land being in another £2 for the support of his wife and family. All would go well, probably, but there comes in a claim of £6 fo r taies levied by the native government. This be cannot hope to meet by labour; so "he sells his children, and probably prostitutes his wife by die posing of her in mortgage" —we quote the official language in which these horrors are described. Even then the oppressor may not be satisfied; and having having lost wife, family, and everything he possessed, the unhappy victim saves himself if he can by flying the country. One of the appended documents is the petition of a public woman to the commissioner for the recovery of a girl, whom she had purchased when very young, " instructed,' as she significantly informs us, and brought up to pro .. stitution, which girl had been detained by a man to whom she bad let her out at so much a month. She describes the transaction in the plainest pos" Bible language, treating it as a regular matter of business. It is this aspect of the system, indeed , which is most repulsive; and it must, as Colonel Haughton remarks, have a demoralising effect upon the whole people ; parents being tempted to there' gard the duties they owe to their children, and other relatives impelled to look with a covetous eye upon widows and orphans whom the ordinary in' sancta of savages would lead them to pity and sue' port. This miserable state of things does not exist exactly under British rule, but most certainly under British protection and administration. Colonel Haughton is, however, taking decisive steps to bring it to an end, though he does not hope to per' form the task entirely at once. He has on his °WI; responsibility refused to recognise the legality 0 ' vales, and has suggested a series of rules for the suppression of the traffic which we can scarcely doubt will be confirmed by Government. It map be expected, moreover, that the revelations which have been made, and followed up hi the action of authority, will lead to the dis' closure of similar practices which are known to exist more or less in most parts of India, not elo cepting British territory. Slavery is an old custom of the country, and though there is a great deal of uncertainty as to its extent, there is every reason to suppose that it is far from having died out. The sale of female children is scarcely a marvel in a land where a girl is an incumbrance to the poor, and the power of the law is necessary to save her, from being put out of the world altogether; and we believe there. is no part of India where a person , be he European or native, who wanted to make such a purchase, could not be accommodated. Even in Calcutta it is probable that sales of young girls are frequently effected; and it is believed by those who have excellent means of judging that there are maul wealthy men in that city who have slaves in their zenanas. That the practice has not before been formally exposed is due to the old laisserfaire policy, which it may be hoped has come to an end- The European and native communities, since the, very early days when our countrymen adopted local customs—a great deal too much, have become more and more estranged, and it is only under the present healthy system, which has given the country intel ligible laws and really opened it up to the Western world, that we are beginning to know the people. In a further state of development, one of these days, wo shall probably see an end to slavery. COUNTRY MARKETS. Its--. -- HULL-TUESDAY. At our market to-day there was a good supply of Eng' lish wheat, and a fair business was done; new sorts at 6 decline of is to 2s per qr, and about is for old. Foreign wheat at barely the quotations of last week. Barleys, both malting and grinding, neglected. Oats r a ther ch ea per aih in better supply, Beans and peas sold in retail at previous rates. LYNN-TUESDAY. At to-day's market the supply of wheat was moderates with a good attendance of growers. New samples is to 2 0 and old is per qr cheaper. Barley in large supply, and the best malting maintained late rates; common and grind" ing sorts is lower. Beans and oats is cheaper. White wheat 44s to 46s i Barley . 36s to 37 0 Red .. 4os to 42s I Grinding ..29s to 3 18 Beans .4os to 42s I Oats .22s to 26 0 Old ... 36s to 37s I Peas —s to - -- B Averages Wheats, 40s 7d—barley, 31s . ld—beano' 40s Od, MARKET HARBOROUGH-TUESDAY. —White wheat, 44s to 48s ; red, 39s to 43s per 36 stone. Malting barley at 31s to 34s per qr. ; grinding, 26s to 3p,,4 per 30 st, Oats, old, 255 . . to 275; new, 20 8 to 25s per 31 -' st. ; beans, 36s to 42s per qr. NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE-TUESDAY. At our corn market to-day the supply of wheat WO moderate, and sold at no advance on former rates. Bar" ley and oats were a slow sale at a slight decline. There Wm' little doing in beans, peas, or malt. MELTON MOWBRAY—TUESDAY. This morning at our market wheat came' well to hands and was disposed of at rather lower rates There was so improved show of barley, and prices ruled slightly lower. The following were the currencies :—Now white wheat! 42s Od to 46s Od ; new, red, :38s Od to 44s per 36 stone , beans, 38s to 42s for old ; new sorts, 35s to 37s per 38 st. ; barley, —s to —s for malting, and 27s to 29s per qr . for grinding; new oats, 20s to 25s Od per 24 stone; old, 2 41 to 295. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton Sept. 18* via Marseilles .. Oct. 12. Brazil and Cape Verde, by British packet. Oct. 4. Cape of Good lope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Sept. 28. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Suuthampton.Sept.l o . via Marseilles ...Sept. I 7• Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton Sept. is. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Sept. 15_. via Marseilles Sept, 'l% • India (Bombay), via Southampton Sept. 18. via Marseilles Sept. 20. Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Sept. 1 8 . via Marseilles Sept. 2 0 . Newfoundland .. Sept. 28 . Oporto and Vigo ... U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Sept. 22. by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet. Sept. 23. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, 1 Sept. 26. California. and B r iti s h Columbia.. Births. CUEITT.—On the 21st inst., at Denbies, Dorking, the wife of George Cubitt, Esq , M.P., of a daughter. HODGSOIi.—On the 20th inst., the wife of the Rev. it° Hodgson, at Pilton Rectory, Northamptonshire, of a daughter. MILSTED.—On the 20th inst., at 54, Canonbury.park, N. , Mrs. Henry Milsted, of a daughter. Marriage& GASCOIGNE—WOMBWELL. —Ol3. the 20th inst., at Saint Michaels, Chester-square, Captain G asco i gne, Grenadier Guards, the eldest son of General Gascoigne, to France° Charlotte, only child of Charles Orby Wombwell, Esq. LOWE^ , -CIIADS.—On the 20th inst., at St. Judo's, South sea, Rear-Admiral Lowe, son of the late Dean of Exeter , to Elizabeth Henrietta, eldest daughter of Admiral S 1 Henry D. Chads, K,C.B. Deaths. CUYEER.—On the 18th inst., at Saville-place, Clifto!lt Florence, daughter of the late Sir Charles Cuyler, Ballo and the Dowager Lady Cuyler. CoLvlN.—On the 19th inst., Beale Blackwell Colvin, Es4•' of Pishobury, aged 55. EVEREST. —On the 20th inst., at West hill, Wandswortb , John Everest, Esq., aged 83. FRASER.—On the 19th inst., suddenly, at 4, St. Alban' place, St. James's, Captain Donald Maclean Fraser, MP' Regt., aged 35. 11.4.nsTort.—On the 20th inst., at the residence of his son, the Vicarage House, Sherborne, Saml, Richard Harem ), Esq., aged 80. London :Zed and Prbfithed by WILLIAM ANDUL Sr of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TUE SUN Office No. / Strand, In the Precinct of the Savoy, in the CcuutY ° Jl4dilepex.-rWiturgiay, September 2?,.180*,